(February 21, 2009)
Steele Creek residents had an opportunity to learn about
numerous activities and organizations in the Steele Creek
community at the 2009 meeting of the Steele Creek Residents
Association at Southwest Middle School last week.

Officer Lisa
Speas displayed her passion for
providing positive influences on youth through the
Steele Creek Youth Network, a Special Project of
Steele Creek Division, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, that she
started in 2005.

Through programs
managed in partnership with
houses of faith and non-profit organizations, the Steele Creek Youth
network has built trust and encouraged youth
to get out of gangs, continue education, get involved with religious
activities, and become leaders rather than followers in school.

A major annual
activity of the Steele Creek Youth Network is Survivor Copperhead
Island, a week-long wilderness adventure for at-risk youth held in
the summer at Mecklenburg County's McDowell Nature Preserve and
Copperhead Island.

This year, all
membership dues collected by the Residents Association will be
donated to the Steele Creek Youth Network. (Find out how to join
here: About the Association.)
Officer Speas is always on the lookout for new sponsors and
volunteers. You may contact her at 704-336-8360 or
lspeas@cmpd.org.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Police Chief Rodney Monroe said that the department has adopted
seven strategic goals, and one of these is youth crime prevention
and enforcement. He plans to devote special attention to youth
programs. See News 14 Carolina's report Monroe to Revamp Youth Crime Prevention.

He said that
statistics show that crime is down in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, but
there are still too many victims. He has requested that the
Charlotte City Council provide funding for 125 new officers this
year and 125 new officers next year. The Steele Creek Division is
large and rapidly growing and is among the areas needing additional
officers.

Chief Monroe said
that the department is planning to create two new divisions, which
will result in revising boundaries for existing divisions. When that
occurs, the Steele Creek Division will decrease in area.

Gray
Little talked about sports programs offered by the
Steele Creek Athletic Association. He said that the
Association has sponsored youth baseball in Steele Creek since 1958
when several church teams were organized into a league. The
Association now offers baseball, girls’
softball, soccer, basketball, cheerleading, and football to any
child interested in participating. Volunteers coach and manage all
sports programs as well as manage and maintain their sports complex
on Choate Circle. Gray and Association President Dewey Rhinehart
answered questions about the Association.

Chris Hummer,
Administrator of Carolinas Medical Center (CMC) in Pineville, said
that the new
CMC-Steele Creek facility will be open in August and will
have a full-service emergency room as well as several doctors'
offices. They are hoping to add a helicopter pad, which would
be available for transporting serious cases to other facilities.

Eric White of the
Steele Creek YMCA discussed programs offered at the
Steele Creek Express Center. He said that they are progressing on
their search for a site to build a full service facility in Lower
Steele Creek.

However, one of the
best things about the meeting may have been just seeing people talk
to each other, to talk to those who came to provide information
about their programs, to talk to the elected officials who attended,
or just to chat with other people about what's happening in Steele
Creek. People seemed to linger long after the program ended. They
took advantage of the opportunity to learn more about their
neighbors and community.

Construction will begin on the new Shopton Road West realignment
on February 23. Completion of the new intersection and signal is
scheduled for June 12. At that time, the current Shopton Road
West will be abandoned where it intersects Steele Creek Road,
and the traffic signal will be removed. The sharp curve will
remain until Steele Creek Road is straightened in a future phase
of the project. See
Dixie River Road Project.